Westminster show dogs have some unusual food faves

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer). In this Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, photo, Emmy, a harrier, keeps her eyes on a treat offered to her by handler Mike Gowen in the benching area before competing in the 142nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, at Madison Square Garde...

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer). In this Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, photo, Kim Brown, holds Bazinga, a basenji, in the benching area before competing during the 142nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, at Madison Square Garden in New York. “He likes it when I do a...

By JENNIFER PELTZAssociated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Benjamin is a grand champion English toy spaniel, but he's not a champ at chow. The otherwise undemanding dog tends to balk at any food after a couple of meals.

Come on in to the Westminster Kennel Club, where owners and handlers know how to cater to the eclectic tastes of show dogs competing this week. As the best in show pick neared Tuesday night, the nation's biggest-winning dog last year, Ty the giant Schnauzer, won the working group. The sporting group win went to a Sussex spaniel named Bean that charmed the crowd by sitting up straight in the ring.

For some dogs, it takes culinary ingenuity to get into show form.

"We've got it down to a science," Mikka's co-owner, Jane Bass, says of whetting the whistles of a herding breed known for its matted coat, gentle protectiveness and finicky appetites.

Six-year-old Mikka, which made her Westminster debut Monday, came to Bass underweight and tentative after another family gave her up. Mikka wouldn't eat until one day when Bass arrived at her Easton, Connecticut, home to a weird smell wafting from the kitchen. Her husband was warming lamb kibble, chicken broth and homemade chicken in a skillet for the dog.

"That was the magic formula. That and the couch," Bass says.

Enough bergamascos are particular about food that owners share recipes, including those tempting "Satan balls": raw or cooked meat mixed with molasses, oatmeal and peanut butter and rolled into balls, according to Bass.

To cut down on the expense of feeding her five dogs, she prepares a house blend: kibble, chicken and a puree of eggs, egg shells, sea kelp and fruits and vegetables that can include apples, oranges, bok choi, celery and acorn squash.

Dawn and Timothy Eilber spend about $1,000 and many hours a month preparing an all-raw diet for their four cane corsos. At each of the strapping guard dogs' two daily meals, the Scotrun, Pennsylvania, couple measures out portions of meat, bone and organ meat and adds such ingredients as coconut oil, raw honey, apple cider vinegar and turmeric paste.

"We think we're crazy sometimes," Dawn Eilber said after her husband showed one of the dogs, Marley, at Westminster on Tuesday. "But this makes us happy."

There's plenty of high-end store-bought food on show dog menus - indeed, Purina Pro Plan sponsors Westminster - and lots of handlers rely on familiar treats such as chicken, liver or cooked steak. Jen Jones ended up ordering a $40 filet mignon from her hotel so she'd have steak to bring to the ring with Hudson, one of her St. Bernards, at Westminster on Tuesday.

"What are you going to do? It's Westminster," laughed Jones, of Bellevue, Colorado.

Other handlers find more exotic or complicated items appeal to their prized pets and performers.

"He likes it when I do a little fresh garlic and a little bit of Maldon Salt flakes" with organic chicken breast, Kim Brown said of her basenji, named Bazinga.

The Furlong, Pennsylvania-based breeder happened to make the receipt for herself once early in Bazinga's training, gave him a bite and noticed his "oohhhhhh" expression. So it's been their go-to show-ring treat ever since, including in a televised semifinal round at Madison Square Garden Monday night.

American Veterinary Medicine Association President-elect Dr. John de Jong says there's no one answer, but owners should look to reputable, nutritionally balanced and well-researched brands. He suggests owners who'd rather make their own dog food do research and consult a vet or veterinary nutritionist, as dogs have different dietary needs than people do, and those needs can vary by age, size and other factors.

There are some red flags for dog food and treats, including artificial sweeteners, avocados, chocolate, grapes, Macadamia nuts, onions and fatty foods. And, as with people, moderation is key.

Overall, "be wise, use discretion," de Jong says. "Use common sense."

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